Finishing the river scene

To display the Hot Springs Junction Ntrak module at the Hiller Avaiation Museum's Train's and Planes exhibit last April, I had laid temporarily tracks on the Ntrak lines.  To complete the scenery in the river these tracks and the three concrete bridges were removed to access the area under the tracks.  In this post I have divided the river into lower and upper scenes.

The lower river scene

With the suggestion and offer of materials from one of the members of Peninsula Ntrak, I chose to cover the area around the bridge abutments with boulders.

White glue was spread around the abutments and pilings, then the boulders were laid on top of that. Other smaller and more rounded rocks were placed throughout the river bed area.

Here is the view from above with almost all of the boulders in place.  The counter sunk screw holes on the ends of the bridges are for the flat head screws that hold the bridges in place.

The upper river scene

This river originates on the module from a concrete bridge that carries the upper railroad racks and station platforms over the river.

This was made by combining two sections from Green Max kit # 47-5.  The side retaining walls were scratch built from styrene tile.  All were air brushed Model Master aged concrete color and weathered.





There will be a vehicle bridge connecting the two roads seen in this photo that also came for Green Max kit # 47.5 - handy kit !  In this last photo it can been seen that some "water" is running out from under the bridge arches and down the river, more on that in the next post.

Finishing the station scene - Part 2

After spending what hobby time I had in July completing the wiring and controls for this module, this month I'm back to finishing the area around the station.  With the platforms now secured to the module, it was time to install the foot bridge.  Remember from the post Building the Green Max foot bridge that I had made my own support columns so that they would be long enough to reach ground level while the stairs would end at the platform level.

I cut short sections of square tubing that the bridge columns would fit right into.  These were painted concrete color before being placed into square holes cut into the foam.  White glue does not react with the foam and it was placed around the square tubing sections to settle into the space around the tubing.

Here is an over head view showing how the foot bridge rest on the platforms.   While the two pairs of columns on the outside were attached to the module as shown above, the center pair was attached directly to the surface with E6000 adhesive as that area is on wood.

The plate on the bumper at the end of the station spur track was painted white and a black "X" decal was applied over the white background.  In this photo, the empty concrete footings for the foot bridge can be seen in the foreground.  I had intended to attach the foot bridge to the module but it fits so nicely just sitting in the footings, I now plan to have it removable for better access clean the tracks.

A bit of weathering

For weathering I use Bragdon's weathering powders in several different colors.  I use a small shorted bristle paint brush to work the power into the spots I want it to be applied and the larger brush for smoothing.

Here's the assembled scene with both the station and the foot bridge weathered.  The foot bridge got a bit more than the station building as I recall most of them I have seen in rural areas have had a deferred maintenance look to them.




The station area is now basically complete.  Later I will be adding some signs, people, and other details but for now I am going to move on to completing the river scenes.

Controls for a junction module - Part 2

The control panel is now complete and shown here  mounted on the front of the module.  There is also a place to mount in on the back of the module.  This is the first time I've used this method for control panels and really like the way it looks.


July is almost over and it seems the only model railroading work I did this month involved the electronics but it's something that had to get done and it's completion marks a big step in this module being ready for it's next show.

While many model railroaders hate working with the wiring and controls, I rather like it.  Besides this control panel, I also built a power supply to AsiaNrail specs and repaired another smaller power supply I use to power accessories on the modules including the turnout motors.  Next month (starting tomorrow), it's back to finishing more of the scenery.

Controls for a junction module - Part 1

The Musashi-Koyama module set has two tracks, and two pairs of cross over turnouts.  The only controls I have for those modules is a slide switch on the roof of one of the taller buildings, and a "mode" switch under each module.  The mode switch is only set once during setup and selects between a double track or single track arrangement.

While the Musashi-Koyama modules actually have more track and turnouts than the mountain division / AsiaNrail lines on the Hot Springs Junction module, the fact that it is a junction and because the module may used in either a combined Ntrak / AsiaNrail layout or an AsiaNrail only layout an actual control panel was going to be needed.  This control panel would have features for:

• Control of cross over between AsiaNrail and Ntrak Mountain lines
• 4 track blocks - AsiaNrail, Station Spur, Mountain Right, Mountain Left
• Each block selects one of two throttles or center off.
• Indicator lights would be nice but not absolutely necessary
• Can be mounted on front or back of module depending on setup

I created this drawing on Visio.  This will be used as a drilling template and also as an overlay on the control panel.  The large dots are for mini toggle switches and the small dots are for LEDs.


During the operation of the layout a the Hiller Aviation Museum in April the Hot Springs Junction was used as one of three terminals.  Referring to the drawing above, a train would enter from the AsiaNrail layout and come into either the Station Spur or the Mountain Left, which was also a spur in this setup.  It was envisioned that it would have been useful if the Mountain Right block could also have been used as a storage track.  There is actually a similar track arrangement not far from my home at the Mountain View light rail station which is at the end of the line.

I picked up an aluminum box measuring 6.25 inches by 3.5 inches and 3 inches deep.  Using some scrap of 1/8 inch Plexiglas I made a panel that would fit on the top and drilled all the holes in it using the drawing as a template.  I also tried out the product shown next to the Plexiglas panel to clear up any scratches and found that it actually works.

This view is of the bottom of the control box. Mounting brackets were made from 1/2 inch aluminum angle.  The holes for the screws that will mount it to the module were made in such a way as to allow a screw drive to pass through the hole on the opposite side.  A pair of 8-32 Tee nuts are mounted on both the front and back of the module to mount the control box.

Finishing the station scene - Part 1

With the station, the foot bridge, and the platforms all completed, it was time to bring it all together and finish the scene around the station.  They would all need to be properly mounted to the module.

As there is wood under the station, I mounted it with a pair of small flat head wood screws counter sunk into the base of the station.  I may cover this screw with the kiosk structure shown here or some other detail.

The platform on the station side of the track was attached to the module with the clear E6000 adhesive.

Before mounting the station, the tracks were painted and ballasted. Also a bumper made from scraps of rail and brass strip was installed at the end of the stub track.

It is important for the two platforms to be equal in height and their tops parallel to each other for the foot bridge to sit correctly.  I used a straight scrap of wood to align them.  The terrain in the foreground had to be built up a bit to support the 2nd platform..

Here the foot bridge is temporarily set in place on the platforms and a pair of rail cars set on the tracks to double check alignment of the platforms.

While there is still more to do to fully finish this scene, it is great to see it coming together after so much work.

Scratch built platforms - Part 3

To simulate the yellow warning stripes along the inside edges of the platforms, I decided to try something new.  I used some HO scale stickers designed to be used as highway stripes.  After applying the stripes, I sprayed the platforms with a flat finish to seal them on the platform.

Any additional details such as light posts, benches, light or wire poles, and of course people can be added after these platforms are installed.

Covering the last bit of terrain

Almost all of the built up land forms or terrain on the Hot Springs Junction module were done with insulation board.  My techniques for doing this were covered in several previous posts.  This works great and is very light weight but sometimes you need hallow spaces inside the terrain for turnout motors.  There is a small area at the rear of the module where the Tortise turnout motors are mounted that has been left opened.   I am now ready to cover this area with built up terrain and am going to use the

Woodland Scenics plaster cloth supported by cardboard strips is a common method of building model railroad terrain but one that I had never worked with myself before.  I attached the cardboard strips to the surrounding insulation board and back profile board with hot glue.  Further temporary support was provided by crumbled newspaper.  The crumpled newspaper also served to protect the Tortise machines and wiring from any possible dripping plaster.

The cardboard strip webbing and the Tortise turnout motors are visible through the opening in back of module.  This opening will be covered by the sky board when the module is used in an Ntrak layout or by a removable fascia board when no sky board is desired.

I used 3 layers of plaster cloth to get the strength I wanted then also added some joint compound to blend things in with the rest of the hills.  I'm glad I finally got to try this method of building land forms.